Hope still alive for Gilbert & Bennett project

Updated 1:46 pm, Thursday, March 21, 2013

The former Gilbert & Bennett factory property in Georgetown, Conn., shown here Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013, will soon undergo a transformation for new residential, commerical and retail use. Property manager Chris Lynch and his team have already completed smaller projects surrounding the factory, including a new road by the property entrance, sidewalks and traffic signal. less

The former Gilbert & Bennett factory property in Georgetown, Conn. will soon undergo a transformation for new residential, commerical and retail use. Property manager Chris Lynch and his team have already completed smaller projects surrounding the factory, shown here Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013, including a new road by the property entrance, sidewalks and traffic signal. less

The former Gilbert & Bennett factory property in Georgetown, Conn. will soon undergo a transformation for new residential, commerical and retail use. Property manager Chris Lynch and his team have already ... more

The former Gilbert & Bennett factory property in Georgetown, Conn., shown here Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013, will soon undergo a transformation for new residential, commerical and retail use. Property manager Chris Lynch and his team have already completed smaller projects surrounding the factory, including a new road by the property entrance, sidewalks and traffic signal. less

The former Gilbert & Bennett factory property in Georgetown, Conn., shown here Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013, will soon undergo a transformation for new residential, commerical and retail use. Property manager Chris Lynch and his team have already completed smaller projects surrounding the factory, including a new road by the property entrance, sidewalks and traffic signal. less

A long-dormant development project at an abandoned Redding industrial site may be showing signs of life.

It has been a decade since a plan surfaced to convert the Gilbert & Bennett wire mill in the Georgetown section into a mixed-use space, but Georgetown Land Development has yet to start significant work on the project, once valued at $350 million.

The lack of progress -- caused by the economic crash five years ago that dried up financing -- may be coming to an end, according to an individual who has closely followed the situation.

"We are hoping for an announcement of some progress this quarter," Redding First Selectman Natalie Ketcham said in an interview last month. "We understand the delay due to the economy, but will benefit greatly when the project gets under way. The master plan for a mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly village is still consistent with the town's vision for the site, and residents regularly inquire when the varied housing options may be available. There is a pent-up demand for them, including the planned affordable senior housing that should bode well for the developers when they begin."

Creditors and project owners have not abandoned plans to develop the site, as seen by $4.4 million in off-site improvements that were mostly completed at the end of 2012, said Chris Lynch, a project manager at the 55-acre former wire mill, which ceased operations in 1989.

"All involved in this realize it's in their best interest to work this out sooner than later. All the creditors have stayed involved to make sure the approvals haven't expired," said Lynch, who represents Long Island, N.Y. businessman Rocco Trotta, one of the owners of the North Main Street property. "At some point, something will happen."

Declining to discuss a timetable, Lynch said it will be important to build the project incrementally to demonstrate its viability to potential investors.

The plan approved by Redding's zoning commission in 2004 called for up to 416 housing units, including single-family homes, townhouses, loft-style condominiums and market-rate and affordable apartments bordering the Norwalk River.

At that time, the project was headed by Stephen Soler, president of Georgetown Land Development. Soler, who declined to comment for this story, retains an ownership stake in the project but is no longer involved in its management.

The plan included up to 140,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, as much as 130,000 feet reserved for offices and about 30,000 feet of industrial space, half of which would be occupied by the National Park Service for its Weir Farm National Historic Site office.

A 20,000-square-foot performing arts center was part of the plan, which called for rehabilitation of 15 of the site's buildings and the construction of 21 more in a historically sensitive manner.

A key component has been construction of a rail station and 570-space parking facility on the nearby Metro-North Danbury line. But that part of the project sustained a major setback in 2010, when the U.S. Department of Transportation rejected an application for a $28 million TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) grant for construction of the parking garage, to be located off Route 107.

A mix of public and private sources had been targeted to finance the $43 million train station.

In its original form, the overall project, which received an award for Smart Growth Achievement from the U.S. Department of Environmental Protection in 2005, was expected to create 1,500 permanent jobs and about 600 construction jobs.

Economist Nicholas Perna, who lives in nearby Ridgefield, had been pessimistic about the project in 2009, when he told Hearst Connecticut Newspapers he doubted it would find financial backing during the recession.

But now, Perna said that since the economy has picked up, private financing is more available.

"It (the economy) is vastly better now," said Perna, economic adviser to Waterbury-based Webster Financial Corp. "The banks are in better shape today, and the bond market is in good shape. The economic environment is more conducive to take on something like this. Corporate profits are very good, and interest rates are lower than they were in 2009."

Federal assistance will be difficult to obtain, he said, as sweeping government spending cuts take effect.

As the economy improves, interest has increased to restart plans for mixed-used projects in much of the country, said Maureen McAvey, senior resident fellow at the Washington, D.C.-based Urban Land Institute.

"We're seeing action on projects that have been the planning stages get started. The market is simply better. But these projects live and die with financing. Lenders look at projected rents that must cover debt and return to investors," she said, adding that the EPA award could carry some weight among investors.

When the EPA award was presented, it was anticipated that the project would generate $4.7 million in annual property taxes for the town, but Ketcham said that those figures are obsolete.

"We'll have to see what evolves and when to determine reliable sources of revenue," Ketcham said. "The project, as planned ... will enhance residents' quality of life by providing us with a downtown center and desirable amenities. It will increase our grand list and give us a more robust commercial tax base. We are very hopeful that 2013 will bring a long-awaited start for this important and award-winning project."

Like other observers of the project, Brent Colley, who devised a website about the old wire mill where his great-great-grandfather worked, is waiting to see progress.

"It's a pretty special place. Gilbert & Bennett pretty much created that community," said Colley, a Sharon resident whose parents live in Redding. "They're not just rotting buildings."